How He Did It
by USS.Woodchiprise
Summary: A conversation between two Engineering Lieutenants during Nemesis. 'He'll save the ship, as per usual. I wonder how he'll do it this time' Tori Foster always has faith in the man she idolises and desperately crushes on, but this rescue isn't what she expected. Contains Nemesis spoilers and character death, so is a hard Kplus. Read with caution.


I'm hurrying down the corridors of the _Enterprise E_ less than an hour before it happens. I'm on my way to Engineering, having been called there after the crash that shook the ship like a rattle and crippled a good chunk of the saucer section. Captain Picard had just rammed the _Scimitar,_ which was our only hope in a losing battle. It may have been tactical, but it gave a hell of a lot of work for us in Engineering to merely keep the ship together, and there was exasperation hidden behind my fear, optimism and adrenaline. I'd only just finished a double shift an hour ago, and now I was exhausted.

My Starfleet training took over as soon as I stepped into the chaos around the warp core, and my annoyance evaporated. Everyone was dashing about, carrying parts and tools and kits. Commander La Forge wasn't present – he must have been on the Bridge – so I joined Lieutenant Watts at a console, knowing she was in command.

''Lieutenant Foster reporting for duty, Sir. What do you want me to do?''

She glances up at me whilst her fingers still play across the console. ''The forcefields on Deck 6 Section A are malfunctioning. Lieutenant Williams is working on them now, but she needs a hand and an interphasic coil spanner. Go take one and hurry, or we'll have to depressurise the whole section.''

I acknowledge her before legging it to the storage area, grabbing the spanner and setting off once again. Deck 6 Section A isn't too far from the front of the ship, so it must have been temporarily exposed to the vacuum of space before the emergency forcefields went up.

''Hey Melissa!'' I shout as I approach my best friend. She's kneeling next to an access port, her blonde hair obscuring her face. Even so, I know she'll be chewing her bottom lip in concentration.

''Tori'' she replies, ''you got the coil spanner?''

''Yep.'' I hand it to her before kneeling down beside her to recouple an ODN conduit. We work in silence for about thirty seconds, after which I can't hold in my need for news any more.

''Do you know what's happening out there?'' I had an image of Captain Picard, Commander Riker and Commander Data working on their genius plan on the Bridge… especially Commander Data.

I get a scathing look in reply. ''I'm an engineer, not a line officer. How should I know? You _always_ want to know what's going on. Worried about a certain someone, are we?''

I flush red. ''No'' I lie. ''It's not like he can be harmed easily. It'll no doubt be _him_ that saves the ship, as per usual. I'm just wondering how he'll do it this time.''

Now I get an eye roll. Melissa really does have a whole range of sarcastic expressions. ''Just ask him.''

''We've discussed this before.''

''And you still haven't done it.''

''I can't.''

''Why not?''

''Because… because I'm scared he'll say no.''

''Humph. You at least know he likes you; you've worked with him in Engineering countless times because you're smart and dedicated. You also have a knack for keeping up with him when he starts one of his extremely complex explanations, almost like you're both in tune. Besides, you're the one that's supposed to be fearless. If there's ever a dangerous assignment you're the first to volunteer.''

''Interpersonal relationships are different. Besides, it's not _just_ that. I'm not worthy. Nobody is when it comes to him.''

I knew Melissa's exasperation levels had reached a new height, because she actually put down her tools to turn towards me. She _never_ does that. She then reached for my hand and squeezed it, which was another first.

'' _Yes you are_. You're wonderful, and he's just a person, like everyone else.''

''Hmm. A person who's perfect in, like, _every_ single way. He even has emotions now, if he didn't have them before.'' That discussion has taken place many a time, both on this ship and its predecessor, so I'm not surprised when my friend doesn't address it.

''Well, if you never ask you'll never know. It's only a matter of time before one of you is transferred… or gets killed.''

Even in my anxious state I have to laugh. ''Ever the optimist, eh? Data's about to become First Officer, as you well know, so he's not going anywhere. And I'm doing a pretty good job right now, so unless I mess up they won't move me. It's too much hassle arranging for somebody else to take my place, and to teach us both all about our new ships. As for being killed… my odds are better than on most starships, due to a certain aforementioned officer, and _he's_ going to live forever. Mark my words.''

Mocking Expression Number Three comes in the form of a raised eyebrow. The left one. ''Come on, we need to get this sorted quickly, then get back to Engineering. La Forge might have returned by now, and you know how much he hates idleness.'' We both turned back to the access port and did the last few minutes of work in silence.

As we were packing away I stood up to go, but Melissa grabbed my wrist. ''When this is over, ask him. I want you to do it before the end of the month, at least. For me as well as yourself. You've been brooding over him for years now, and I can't bear to watch it.''

I swallow, looking down into her pleading blue eyes. ''Okay'' I acquiesce, pulling her to her feet. ''I'll do it soon.''

''Good.'' My mercurial friend's mood changes to playful, and she smirks. ''You can congratulate him on how he saved all our hides for the millionth time, and gush about how you _always_ knew he would…''

Punching her arm playfully, I set off back to engineering at a fast jog.

* * *

The explosion takes place just as we're passing a viewport less than ten seconds later. We skid to a halt, and my jaw goes slack.

''Wow.''

I turn to my crewmate. ''Guess we're saved, then.''

''Yeah… it's just so sudden. Dramatic. I never get over ships exploding.''

''Tell me about it. You talk about them for weeks afterwards. Personally, I find them quite… beautiful.''

''Seriously? They're so horrible. Most of them are menacing and scary, a harsh flash of light and death in the blackness of space. But this one…'' she tilts her head, trying to put it into words. ''It's so sad. Obviously, they often are, especially when innocent people are killed, but this one in particular… I just have a really bad feeling about it.''

I've learnt not to take Melissa's 'feelings' too seriously. She has them all the time, and they never come true.

''Either way, we can't stand here gawking. La Forge will doubtlessly want us to begin repairs right away, and I for one want to find out what happened. I wonder how he did it?''

The rest of the day is a blur.

Returning to engineering to find a shocked crew.

Watching Geordi walk in with tears in his lightning blue eyes.

Geordi never cries.

He can barely choke out the news. But everyone understands.

His best friend, the seemingly indestructible officer, my long-time crush, is gone.

We're all dismissed for five hours. Five hours to grieve and pull ourselves together before repairs begin. If they hadn't let me go I'd have gone anyway, sprinting to my quarters with my hands over my mouth and eyes to hide my wracking sobs.

I barely make it through the doors of my quarters before I collapse in a heap of mourning and regret. Two things run constantly through my mind, repeating themselves over and over again like a time loop.

 _Data's dead._

 _I should have asked him._

 _Data's dead._

 _I should have asked him._

I was too late. I only loved him from afar.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** _Okay, this is a little random. It just came to me while I was trying to concentrate on chapter 7 of Real Data, so I thought I'd give it a go. It's actually my first one-shot, so any advice on improvement is greatly appreciated! Tori Foster, Melissa Williams and Lieutenant Watts (I never gave her a first name) are my own creations. I know there was little back story on Tori's feelings for Data, but that was intentionally vague (it is a one-shot, after all). I hope your minds fill in the blanks and that the impact was still there._

 _''I'm an engineer, not a line officer'' is an oblique reference to the ''I'm not a doctor, I'm a...'' lines given by the various doctors in the different series. The last line is another vague reference to Data's-grandfather-in-Data's-body's speech to himself in The Schizoid Man, which was used by my favourite Data tribute video over his funeral scene. It's simply named ''Lieutenant Commander Data Tribute'' on YouTube, with Data and Timothy (the little boy from Hero Worship) as the picture. It's definitely worth a watch. Thank you so much for reading!_

 _Woody xxx_


End file.
